I don’t know if you guys are familiar with Golf Digest’s Hot Lists, but they are a great source of information if your in the market for new golf gear.  They recently released their Hotlist 2009 for Golf Balls.

They tested every ball on the market, using multiple variables (player, robot and air-cannon testing) and came up with 28 balls that can claim the right to make the Golf Ball Hotlist 2009.

In order to prevent bias, they blacked out and numbered every ball tested so players would not know which balls they were hitting.

Golf Digest sought the input of golf retailers, scientists and a  panel of 22 players during testing at Ginn Reunion Resort in Reunion, Fla.

They’ve broken the results down into three categories;

Golf Balls $22 and under.

Golf Balls $22-$35.

Golf Balls $40 and up.

Each golf ball in the categories received a gold or silver rating based on, performance, innovation, feel and demand.

Because I’m such a (cough) frugal golfer, I was very interested in the $22 and under category.

I was very glad to see that my favorite ball and the ball I currently use received a gold rating.

I must be clairvoyant because I kewn last year that this was an amazing golf ball and all my praise and worship of the Top-Flite Gamer Ball was not based soley on it having such a cool name, which it does…  🙂

(clears throat)

And I quote

“Sophisticated in its technology, Gamer achieves more performance per dollar than any ball in golf.”

🙂

Since the demand is only 2 1/2 stars, there plenty available!

Well, actually, that’s not accurate, I had to go to three different stores last week to find em.

Since then I’ve been sticking to buying them via Ye Ol Internet.  You can check out the full article here: Hotlist 2009 – Golf Balls

It’s important to note that selecting the right golf ball is an individual process and every person is different and thus what’s good for me isn’t necessarily good for you. 🙂

At the bottom of the article there’s a good video and article that’ll help sort out which golf ball is best for you.

What’s your Ball-O-Choice and where does it fall in the rankings?

-Dave